Matt Beebe on the Issues

Leadership – Not Compromise
Proverbs tells us “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

I believe that leadership requires a bold vision and a willingness to communicate and advocate for it. If I’m privileged to serve you as your next Texas State Representative from House District 121, I promise to clearly articulate my policy positions and passionately advocate on behalf of the residents of District 121.

Congress in Washington, D.C. is a mess, and while we are blessed to live in Texas, Austin has historically been a policy black hole where we’ve consistently seen many conservative priorities subtly chipped away at or watered down, and many issues fundamental to our Republican Party platform simply ignored.

I believe that it is essential that we work together to solve the challenges before us, but I do not agree that we should check our principles at the door and unilaterally disarm. As your representative, I will fight for your values.

Fiscal Discipline
Bold leadership requires honest dialog. Texans deserve honesty and transparency, especially when it comes to balancing our tax burden against competing priorities. I will stand against the use of budget gimmicks and other games, and ensure that our budget reflects our values and priorities.

Proper Role of Government
It is essential that we return to our founding roots and recognize that the government cannot and should not be the solution for every problem. As a veteran, I have a profound respect for the government’s proper role of securing our God given rights, and I will consistently focus on ensuring that that role is not exceeded. Likewise, I will seek to vigorously defend our state sovereignty against an ever-encroaching federal government. We must avoid expanding our state government simply because the federal government induces us with a return of our own hard-earned federal tax dollars, or the hard-earned dollars of the citizens of our fellow states.

Jobs and the Economy
As a small business owner, I have seen firsthand the suffocating effects of government regulation, and the difficulties that can result when the government tries to “help.” When the government starts to tinker with rules and regulations to the benefit of one industry, or entrenched special interests, we all suffer the consequences. I will serve as an advocate of the free market, and not crony-capitalist special interests looking to Austin to secure special advantages instead of competing in the open market for capital investment and customers.

Government stifles economic growth and capital investment when the tax structure for businesses is subject to change with each new legislative session. Instead of tinkering with the business tax code, I will seek to end the business margins tax – and restore certainty to our regulatory and business tax schemes. If we want businesses – small or large – to feel comfortable enough to expand their operations or to open new locations, it is incumbent upon the legislature to foster an environment which welcomes and rewards entrepreneurship.

Reducing these costs on doing business will result in billions of new investment, thereby creating additional jobs for Texans and ensuring we remain the strong economic leader that leads the way for the rest of the nation.

Illegal immigration
Texas must continue to address illegal immigration. We’re a sovereign nation with sovereign borders. When a steady stream of foreigners break the law by jumping in the front of the line, it’s not only unfair to those who have been patiently waiting to become legal citizens, but it leads to a strain on our already overly burdened social safety nets like public schools, welfare, and Medicaid.

I am committed to doing everything possible to secure the border and monitor our Lone Star ports. Likewise, we must get serious about interior enforcement, and truly end the miscarriage of justice known as “sanctuary cities.”

Education
Quality education is essential to our success as a state. Preparing the next generation for the opportunities and challenges that will come will be one of my biggest privileges as a State Representative.

In 1970 the ratio of teachers to non-teachers in the state of Texas was 2.5 to 1. For every 2.5 teachers there was 1 non-teacher. Today, according to the TEA, that ratio is 1 to 1. Over the last few decades we have seen a drain of dollars pouring out of the classroom and that’s one of the first things I will fight in Austin.

Charter schools, private schools, and homeschooling are all legitimate alternatives that should be encouraged by our state – but I am unwilling to abandon our public school system and our hardworking teachers. However, fundamental reform must come to our broken education funding system, and innovative approaches to teaching – and assessing effectiveness – must be encouraged.

Sanctity of life
Life is precious because each of us is created in the image of God. Yet, despite the gift which each life represents, the most dangerous place to live is in a mother’s womb. It is tragic that one out of three unborn children will be aborted. Not only do I believe that life begins at conception, but I know as a matter of proven scientific fact that life begins at conception.

If I’m privileged to serve you as your next Texas State Representative from House District 121, I will take a stand against:

embryonic stem cell research

taxpayer-funded abortions through Planned Parenthood

hospital death panels which override the express wishes of the patient to continue water and nutrition

Sanctity of Marriage
The very nucleus of society is the family — made up of a husband and his wife. When the family is compromised, society is compromised. To suggest that two men or two women or any group of people involved in a sexual relationship can somehow be equated with traditional, heterosexual marriage is outrageous.

The best, and healthiest place to raise a child is in the home with Mommy and Daddy. That’s why I oppose placing foster children or children to be adopted with homosexual couples.

Casino Gambling and Expanded Gaming
The government, at its core, has a duty to protect its citizens, not exploit them.

Unlike traditional businesses which actually grow the economy, the money that gamblers devote to gambling is a net loss, a net drain on the economy. Gaming advocates attempt to expand gambling under the guise that it will generate more revenue for government. However, study after study shows that this just isn’t the case, and local residents and taxpayers across the state would be left with a net increase in costs, while big casino bosses and well-connected special interests will siphon off money from some of the most vulnerable among us.

As Republicans we shouldn’t be distracted by lure of new revenue in the form of a tax on the poor. It’s bad for Texas families, and it’s bad for the Texas economy.

A Commitment to the US and Texas ConstitutionsI believe that God ordains, and the Constitution restrains. I pledge to work diligently to push back against an encroaching Federal Government, and uphold our ENTIRE Constitution. As an NRA member, I believe that the second amendment is there to protect the first, and guarantees us a fundamental and individual right to keep and bear arms. But more than just gun rights, many of our basic freedoms are under attack. I will stand for liberty.